The Most Important Asset in Prayer

November 25, 2012 by Olga 9 Comments

The Most Important Asset in Prayer

It is all too human that when we do something repeatedly, it can lose its significance and meaning. Familiar acts become part of our habit and we don’t give them much thought – we just do them automatically. God’s Word instructs us to pray to the Father in the Name of Jesus. So we conclude our prayers with the phrase “In the Name of Jesus” – sometimes without truly considering what we are saying. The name Jesus has significance and is weighty with meaning. Did you ever wonder how Jesus got His name?

How Did Jesus Get His Name?

Then name of Jesus and the authority of Jesus are one and the same. Have you ever thought about that? His name represents His authority and Jesus is worthy of His name through inheritance, obedience, and resurrection.

1. Jesus was given His name and the power in His name through inheritance. (Hebrews 1:4). Jesus inherited His name, a royal name, from His Father, just as your parents named you. It was the Father’s will for the name of Jesus to be superior to any angel, human being, or demon spirit.

2. Jesus received His name and the power in it by His obedience (Philippians 2:5-11). Every tongue will confess Jesus Christ as Lord, whether in this life or in the next, whether in heaven or in hell. The best time to do it is in this life through salvation; accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

3. Jesus proved His name and the power in it by His resurrection from the dead (Ephesians 1:19-23). The name of Jesus is more powerful than anything named. It is above sickness and disease, poverty, lack and anything else.

Understanding how Jesus received His name opens up new awareness of the One to whom we entrust our prayers. Jesus is not just a name – it is THE NAME. And it is a privilege to call on Jesus’ name – a privilege that comes from our relationship with Him.

Privilege Through Relationship

The privilege of access to the Father comes through our relationship with Jesus. When we pray in the name of Jesus, we pray in His power and authority, asking the Father to act upon our prayers because we come to Him in the name of His son, Jesus – our Savior.

Jesus states in John 14:13-14, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

It’s not so much the words that we speak at the end of a prayer, that make calling on His name powerful. Instead it is how our relationship with Jesus motivates us to honor and glorify Him.

However, many believe that concluding a prayer with the name of Jesus assures that God will grant what was requested. In essence, they treat the name of Jesus as if it were a magical formula.

Prayers that are contrary to God’s will neither honor, nor glorify Jesus and are meaningless. In order to pray according to God’s will we must be aware of His will. Such awareness comes from abiding in His Word.

Abide in the Word

John 15:7 clearly states that when we abide in Jesus Christ, his words abide in us. It is from this position that believers ask and receive answers to their prayers. In order to relate to the name of Jesus, we must be identified with the Word of God. This means we abide in it, dwell in it, walk in it, submit to it and make a commitment to obey all of it- not just the parts that we choose.

Abiding occurs progressively. Submit to what you now understand of the Lord. As you grow, you will be able to ever more fully submit yourself to His authority.

Submit To Authority And See Authority Released On Your Behalf

Acts 19:13-16 tells us about the seven sons of Sceva; how they heard of the miracles that took place by using the name of Jesus and wanted to try it themselves with a man who had an evil spirit.

The sons of Sceva used the right formula and they even used the right words; they believed in the name of Jesus but didn’t believe in the person of Jesus. They had not placed themselves under Jesus’ authority. To them, the name of Jesus was merely a curiosity – something to be tried and laid down.

The devil knew that the sons of Sceva didn’t have the same authority that Paul had in the name of Jesus. The Bible says that the evil spirit they were attempting to exorcise “leaped upon them, mastering two of them…” In contrast, Paul was under the authority of Jesus. Jesus’ authority released through Paul was based on Paul’s being under the authority of Jesus. Under that authority, Paul brought forth much fruit – fruit that is still productive today. We are also to be fruitful.

Bring Forth Fruit That Will Remain

In John 15:16 Jesus states “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” There is authority in His name to ask and receive from the Father. We are to bear fruit that remains because it is fruit birthed by prayer in the name of Jesus.

You and I have been given the power of attorney in Jesus’ name; we have been given authority to act for Jesus Christ by using His name. In essence, Mark 16:17-18 says, “Everything I have been doing, you will do.” You can say that we are called to carry out Jesus’ business in His name.

Through the authority of His name we can heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out devils. We are called to demonstrate His authority, which means that God will use His power to bring to pass that which we speak when we are operating in His will in accordance with His Word in the name of Jesus.

To Sum It Up

The name of Jesus is our most important asset in prayer. It is a privilege to be in relationship with Jesus and to grow ever more intimate with him through abiding in His Word. As we come to know Him better, we more fully submit to His authority, which releases the power of His authority in our prayers. With the authority of Jesus we can bring forth much fruit that will remain.

Filed Under: PRAYER Tagged With: cast out devils, cleanse the lepers, God, God's Word, heal the sick, in the name of Jesus, inheritance, Jesus, Most Important, Most Important Asset, obedience, pray to the Father, Prayer, prayers, raise the dead, resurrection, Submit To Authority, the authority of Jesus, the name of jesus, the power of attorney, the Word Of God

How To Pray For Your Destiny

October 21, 2012 by Olga 17 Comments

How To Pray For Your Destiny

We all have dreams and desires, things we want to accomplish, and situations we want to see improve. But so often we give up our belief that these things will come to pass. Perhaps we’ve tried and failed, gone through a disappointment or become impatient waiting for change. Today I want to encourage you to reclaim your hope in God’s desire and power to work on your behalf. Your dreams may be taking longer than you wish, but God is a faithful God. Regardless of how long it’s been, no matter how impossible it looks, if you will stay in faith, your time is coming. God loves it when you trust Him enough to ask for those big, seemingly impossible things.

Ask Big

Ask Him for those dreams hidden in your heart. God wants to bless you. He wants to enlarge your territory. He expects you to ask. If you are not asking for God’s favour, His blessings, His increase, then you are not releasing your faith.

There is nothing wrong with big prayers. Dare to pray: “God, I’m asking you to not just supply my needs but to bless me in such a way that I have overflow to bless others!” “God, I am asking you to not only heal my marriage but to also make it grow happier and more fulfilled than ever before.” “God, I’m asking you that my children fulfil their God-given destinies, and they become strong and mighty in the land, leaders in their fields.” Jesus said: “According to your faith it will be done unto you!” So, if you pray for small blessings, you will receive small blessings. If you pray for big blessings, prepare to receive in abundance. When you are unsure of what to ask, it’s time to slip away to a quiet place with God.

Times of Seclusion

In your quiet times, when it is just between you and God, dare to ask Him for your deepest hopes, your greatest dreams. It is in these times of uninterrupted conversation between your spirit and God that you experience intimacy, increased knowledge of His love for you, and clarity about the good plan He has for your life.

For a time, God may bring you apart from others so that you can spend more time with Him and more clearly distinguish His voice. When David was tending sheep, isolated and separated from his family, God gave him victories no one else observed. You too may feel isolated from your family and friends for a time. But that’s a good thing! It is during our times of retreat from the world that He reveals His presence, His purpose, and His plan.

Jabez Knew How To Ask Big

In 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, we find the prayer of a man named Jabez. In ancient times, a person’s name was a statement of who they were and their future. The name Jabez means “pain, suffering, trouble and heartache.” We have no record of why he was burdened with such a name. His name undoubtedly affected his self-image, causing him to be insecure and feel inferior. Can you imagine how it would feel if each time someone wanted your attention they called out, “Hey, trouble, Hey, sorrow. Hey pain”?

So, in this well-known prayer, Mr. Pain Sorrow Trouble Heartache cries out to God.

The Bible doesn’t tell us much about him. We know that he was more honourable than any other in his family. And from his prayer, we can see there was something special about Jabez. In spite of the label that had been given to him, he didn’t become bitter. He knew his God was bigger than his past and said, “God, I am asking that You would bless me indeed.”

What a bold prayer! Jabez came to God with his pain and sorrow and said: “God, I have a lot of things coming against me. Life hasn’t treated me fairly. But, God, I know You are a good God. I know You have a great plan for my life. So, I am calling on You to bless me indeed.”

He didn’t ask for God to bless him a little bit. No, Jabez said: “God, I’m asking for abundance. I’m asking for an overflow of Your goodness. Bless me indeed.”

Jabez shook off a mentality of defeat, saying in effect, “The name I’ve been given doesn’t matter. I know who I am. I am a child of the Most High God, and my destiny is to be blessed.”

Jabez was ready to be released from the burden of his past. By asking that he would be free from pain, he was asking God to free him from his past, for Pain had been his name up to then.

Jabez went on to ask God for more: “God, enlarge my territory.” He was saying, “God, go beyond the norm. Go beyond my borders. Give me extraordinary favour. God, let me see abundance in my life.”

Jabez called out to God, expecting God to answer him. And we are told that God granted his request. Jabez’s hopes were fulfilled.

Nothing Is Beyond Hope

Jabez could have chosen to remain a prisoner of his circumstances. How about you? Regardless of what you’ve been through, what you’re going through or how bleak the future looks, God is saying, “If you’ll ask, I’ll give you a new beginning.”

If you’ll be bold enough to ask for God’s favour, the rest of your life can be better than ever before. Your future can outshine your past.

God wants you to appreciate yourself for who He made you to be and to develop what He has given you. You were created one-of-a-kind, an original. Just like Jabez, you have a unique destiny upon this earth. As you read this, God is seeking you out saying, “If you call out to me, I will tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own” (Jeremiah 33:3 MSG).

Call to Action

The most valuable truth you can learn about your Heavenly Father is that He is a good and loving Father who has made provision for your every need. Nothing is beyond hope. Are you convinced of that? If so, why not have an intimate heart-to-heart with Him and tell Him your deepest longings? Follow the example of Jabez and ask for the seemingly impossible. God is waiting to grant your request.

Filed Under: PRAYER Tagged With: abundance, blessings, Christian, destiny, Faith, God, how to, jabez, Olga Hermans, Prayer, prayers, The Bible, the prayer of jabez

Seven Easy Types of Prayer

June 17, 2012 by Olga 31 Comments

Seven Easy Types of Prayer

by Olga Hermans

There are seven types of prayer in the Bible, which we should be exercising on a regular basis. They are simple and can be prayed anywhere at any time; especially when they come from a believing heart. You see, most people use the same kind of prayer for all their issues in life.

I”d like to tell you that that is a huge mistake. Many prayers are not working because people are using the wrong rules and laws. How many sports do you know? Let’s say you know seven different sports; what you also know is that these seven sports have different rules to follow. It would be very confusing to play a soccer game with baseball rules, isn’t it?

The reason people are confused and have problems with their prayers being answered is that they have their rules all mixed up. One mistake that most people make is that they think they should finish every prayer with the words, “If it is Your will.” They claim that is how Jesus prayed.

Let’s have a look at all the different prayers and make is a little easier!

1. The Prayer of Agreement
Agreement is the most important thing you need when you pray, because our prayer multiplies when we are in agreement with those around us. 1Peter 3:7. We actually always need to be in agreement all the time, not just when we face a crisis. God honors the prayers of those who pay the price to live in unity. Pray the prayer of agreement especially when you feel the need for a little extra prayer power.

2. The Prayer of Petition
This is a prayer that we all use randomly, but there is something you need to know about it. When we petition God, we ask for something for ourselves. When we pray for others, we are interceding. I think we all know that most of us are too interested in ourselves and that’s why we pray this type of prayer. There is nothing wrong with us praying for ourselves, but our prayer life should be well-balanced.

3. The prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving
It is a wonderful thing to praise God for what we believe He is going to do after we have communicated with Him about our needs and the needs of others. We should praise the Lord continually and with that, I mean all day. We should thank Him in good times and especially in hard times. This is good for our character, because when we praise Him during the tough times, we take our eyes away from our problems and stay focused on Him, who is the answer!

4. The Prayer of Intercession
To intercede means to stand in the gap for another person. Ez.22:30. If people have a need, we can intercede for them and expect to see them comforted and encouraged while they are going though certain situations. We then can expect a suitable breakthrough for them concerning their need being met. We need each other! It is a wonderful thing to pray for others and see God come through in their life without them even knowing that you prayed for them.

5. The Prayer of Commitment
When we are tempted to worry or to take control of some situation in life, we should pray the prayer of commitment. God is ready to get involved in our situations when we commit them to Him. You can commit your children to the Lord, or your marriage, your personal relationships and especially those things that you like to worry about. 1Peter 5:7. Only God really knows what needs to be done, and He is the only one Who is qualified to do it.

6. The Prayer of Consecration
This is the type of prayer where we give ourselves to God. In this type of prayer, we dedicate our lives and all that we are to Him. I remember the time we went from Tulsa OK back to The Netherlands; we had no idea whatsoever what was going to happen, so we consecrated ourselves to God because that was the only thing we could do. We more or less told the Lord: here we are, do as you please. Consecration is a powerful thing, but it must be sincere.

7. Believe God hears you
When we pray, we need to come to God as a believer and not as a beggar. Hebr.4:16 tells us that we can come boldly into His throne room; not as a homeless person, but as a son or a daughter and be bold about it. Believe that He hears you and have confidence in that very fact. He loves us and desires for us to receive the Blessing that He had promised Abraham to give to us.

When you pray, believe that He is working on the situation you prayed about. Don’t keep praying the same prayer over and over again, but instead thank Him for what He is about to do and for Who He is. Do things that build your confidence and your relationship with Him.

Let me help you to grow your spiritual life with my own book on prayer. Maybe you think you know enough after these two articles, but my book goes into a depth on prayer that I can assure you that you will not regret.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which is a SPIRITUAL Devotion that helps you to make the right choices in your life!

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Five Keys on How To Pray

June 13, 2012 by Olga 16 Comments

Five Keys on How To Pray

by Olga Hermans

This coming weekend we have a powerful summit in our church and one of the things that we do is: PRAY! We pray ourselves at home and we pray corporately in the church; we always have a very powerful time. Our pastors are very passionate about us as a congregation being in unity as we pray and I totally agree with them.

If there is one thing that we need to do if we want to succeed in our own life or in some kind of endeavor by ourselves or as a group is: pray! You probably have heard it said that every failure is in essence a prayer failure or not?

If we don’t pray; nothing significant will happen and things will stay the same. So, if you are serious about your own life and are passionate about what you want to achieve in your own life; you need to pray. I like to focus on one aspect of prayer that I think might help you today and that is how you can be confident when you pray.

It doesn’t do us any good to pray if we don’t have confidence when we pray; when there is no faith in our heart. I think many people are dissatisfied with their prayer life and one of the reasons is that they lack confidence in themselves and in their prayers. Many of us have questions about their prayerlife and feel frustrated about it and feel that they are missing something.

We need to realize that the Holy Spirit will always help us in prayer Rom.8:26 and that Jesus intercedes along with you. Hebr.7:25.

Here are Five Keys on How To Pray

1. Simply, believe when you pray. Matth.6:7
We all need to develop confidence; we need to be confident that God hears us even when we pray a simple prayer like: “God help me.” He hears us and He will answer. We always can depend on God to be faithful to do what we have asked Him to do, as long as what we are asking is in accordance with His will. He is our Helper. Hebr.13:6.
Simple believing prayer comes straight from the heart of the one praying and goes straight to the heart of God and that is what we want isn’t it?

2. We are a house of prayer. Isaiah 56:7
In the Old Testament, the temple of God was the house of God; the place where people went to pray. But we live under the New Testament and are in the New Covenant with God where we are God’s house. We are the building that is still under construction, His tabernacle, His dwelling place, which makes us a house of prayer. 1Cor.3:9 and 1Cor.3:16

3. There is a time for secret prayer. Matthew 6:5-6
Although some prayers are public prayers or group prayers, most of our prayerlife is done in secret and should be that way. We don’t have to let everybody know how much we pray and everything that we pray about. We can our friends know that we are praying about a certain country or so of course, but we never should make a display of our prayers to impress people.

4. Be humble when you pray. Luke 18:10-14
Prayer needs to come from a humble heart. Jesus taught us that by telling us about the Pharisees; He didn’t like that at all is it? They made a show about their prayer life and there was nothing secret about it at all. God hasn’t given us a bunch of complicated, hard-to-follow guidelines. Prayer can be simple, unless complicated people make it complicated.

5. Prayer needs to be fervent. James 5:16
If you desire for your prayers to be effective and they should be; they need to be fervent. When most of us hear the word fervent; we think we need to work our prayers up and need to show some strong emotion before we pray; otherwise our prayers will not be effective. I myself have been there, until somebody taught me otherwise. The Msg. Bible says it like this: …The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.

This shows that our prayers must come from a sincere heart and not just our head. Sometimes we try to sound so devout and well-designed that we get lost. We don’t even know what we are trying to pray about. If we could ever get delivered from trying to impress God or people, we would be so much better off.

One thing is for sure that sometimes we have to change things in our lives to make room for prayer; we simply have to come to that understanding. We have to eliminate things that are less important and know that when we want to discover the life we were born to live and want to get passionate about it, we need to pray

I like to end today with a quote from Martin Luther: “I have so much business I cannot get it done without spending three hours a day in prayer.” I am not telling you to pray three hours a day, because I don’t do that either. The point is that we depend on our time with God how successful we are in our life. Prayer is not something that is optional; if we want to accomplish something in life, we must pray.

Let me help you with my book on prayer; you will not regret it. It is very simply written and if you have questions about what I wrote about, I am always here for you. Dig into these 100 pages filled with wisdom to create a powerful prayerlife!

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which is a SPIRITUAL Devotion that helps you to make the right choices in your life!

How To Keep It Simple

March 15, 2012 by Olga 5 Comments

How to keep it simple

by Olga Hermans

If ever God would be speaking about simplifying our life, it would be now. People wonder often why they don’t see God’s glory, His presence, or His anointing. They want to experience all the things that seem to happen to other people regularly.

The answer is very often that they need to simplify their life in order for them to understand what God says in His Word.
There is this transformational power in God’s Word; freedom comes and life comes in your heart when you read it. It penetrates your heart when you let it and positive change will happen.

Yet not enough believers experience these kinds of breakthroughs; let’s have a look at why that is.

The primary reason is that their life is too complex. Most people don’t enjoy God’s presence, God’s anointing, or God glorious plan because life is just too complicated.

Then there are people who sit in church or fellowship with one another and talk about the Word but never gain any insight. These people hear the Word, but the revelation of the Word never comes. They don’t seem to have the ability to absorb the fullness of God’s wisdom.

Psalm 119:130 tells us that the entrance of Your Word gives light and it gives understanding to the simple. So, when you would sit under the preaching of the Word, light should come and God’s revelations should come.

The word ‘simple’ doesn’t mean that you are not intelligent or whatever; it means that you are open-minded and that you live a simple life. Have you ever wondered why older people have so much wisdom? I think because they have the time to process life’s experiences. Their life is simple.

Complexity in itself doesn’t have to a bad thing. Our body in itself is very complex and works wonderfully. The reason people don’t know God the way they should is that their lives are just too cluttered and too complicated.

So, if you are born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit, you can be sure that you have the ability to perceive the leadings of the Lord. The problem is that the busyness of your life and the noise of your flesh are depleting your spiritual life, which make it difficult to hear His still, small voice in your heart.

Your spiritual senses are overwhelmed by worldly clutter so they can’t function as they were designed to be.
I will picture an image here: let’s say that you are sitting in a room with your best friend. You are engaged in each other’s conversation and you can hear each other very well. You can pick up every variation of her voice; you know her so well that your communication gets more and more intimate.

Well, all of a sudden the room fills up with people who are all talking at once. Then TV goes on with a football game; people get so engaged in the game that they raise their voices more and more.

Your friend is still speaking and you can still hear her, but you can’t discern what she is saying as easily as you could when the room was quiet. You might miss a few words and misunderstand a few things.

Now they open the windows and all the sound of the street comes in; buses, trams and taxis are driving and honking their horn. You are looking at your friend and you see her lips moving, but you can’t figure out what she is saying. There is too much noise in the room; you are unable to distinguish the one sound that is important. You are unable to hear the voice of your friend.

This is what many people experience in their prayer life. Our flesh and our natural concerns of this world are making too much noise and are asking attention from us all the time. Too bad, because what God wants is right there to talk to us, but we have to get quiet before the Lord and give Him all our attention just like you would do with your best friend.

People keep waiting on the leading of the Lord; they think that He is not leading them right now. But that is not true; He is always leading us. But if we don’t obey those leadings, He won’t be able to take us any further. We find ourselves spiritually stuck and unable to rise up to higher levels where our heart desires to go.

It says in Psalm 46:10 that if we will be still before the Lord, we will be sure that we hear Him tell us how much He loves us and that you are a son to Him. Hearing Him say that will give you such a boost that you want to come back again and be still before Him and listen to that still small voice and hear some more from Him.

But if our life is too busy and too cluttered and has gotten a little too comfortable with the ways of this world, we won’t be able to hear Him. People think that it is ok to talk to God while listening to the noise of the world. If you talk to God while you go and do certain things, that is perfectly fine and it is a good thing.

But there should be times in your daily routine that you set yourself apart from everything around you and make time for God. Get your emotions and affection untangled from the earthly affairs.

It is time for us to set our minds on things above, not on things on the earth. It is time for us to get the worldly clutter out of our minds so that we can more readily hear and respond to the voice of the Lord.

We do that by purposely putting more time and energy into spiritual things. We do it by spending extra time each day worshiping the Lord, meditating on His Word, and praying. We do it by giving more of our attention to Him.

Filed Under: PRAYER Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, excerpt of book, for such a time as this, future, God, God knew you before you were born., home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, lifestyle, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Restoration, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, this is your life, to live, trouble, vision, What

The Power of Corporate Prayer

February 16, 2012 by Olga 1 Comment

The Power of Corporate Prayer

by Olga Hermans

The Bible tells us that we are a house of prayer; personally and as a church. I am a member of an awesome church and the reason why I enjoy it so much is because there is a lot of prayer going on. I have learned so much since I am in this church that I like to bring some of that to you; I hope you don’t mind!

Amazing things happen when believers come together and pray and what is even more important is that impossible victories are won. Things that you have a hard time dealing with on your own will be dissolved in no time when praying people come together.
Our own time of prayer can be very precious and as much as we enjoy fellowshipping with the Father on our own, we are living in a time where many people are facing many challenges that can only be met by the corporate prayers. This is not the time to be a lone prayer ranger.

We are living in a time where God is looking for people who are drawing near to Him but also to each other. Proverbs 27:17 says that iron sharpens iron. One of the exciting things that happen when we come together in prayer is that gifting that have been hidden within us are revealed and activated. The anointing on us connects with the anointing on someone else and enables us to step into spiritual positions we could never have engaged by ourselves.

The story of Saul is one of my favorite illustrations for this. Saul was very timid at first, he didn’t look much like a king and he had no experience operating in the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you want to know how God changed him?

He changed him by bringing him in contact with anointed people. Yeah, God used the gifts on these praying people to awaken Saul to his own calling and that changed him into a different man. Being with those people changed him completely.

That is how important divine connections and relationships are; they change us. They also activate spiritual endowments and giftings that are lying dormant on the inside of us. They prepare us for our future and they inspire us to go to higher heights in God.

Have you ever experienced that? It is a great thing when that happens. We can walk around for years with our calling and gifting on the inside of us; they are like seeds on the ground. But then God sends somebody across our path who is anointed to cultivate them, those seeds in us will begin to sprout. The more we are with that person, the bigger those seedlings grow.

That is exactly how I experienced that when I stepped into our church. Our pastors are very sensitive to the callings on people’s lives and they speak into the lives of their members and you see people getting stronger and more confident to what they are called to. I really believe that without meeting certain people in your life, seeds will not be able to sprout.

Your need to discover the life you were born to live is of utmost importance; we all need those divine connections. Nobody else can discern it for you. Nobody else can pursue it for you. Nobody else can complete it for you. You and I need each other; we need these divine connections, but in the end we are responsible for what we do or don’t do.

It is very important to be a member of the household of faith, to be in the right company. You are meant to be in a certain place, in a certain group of people that assemble together and work together in unity and love each other.

We need to assemble corporately; we supplement and complement each other. To complement means to strengthen each other or to add to something that already exists. To supplement means to bring elements together and create something new.

The colors of the rainbow appearing side by side complement each other. When the colors mesh, however, something even more wonderful happens. New colors become visible that are only made possible by the merging. When yellow and blue join together, they make green. Red and yellow make orange. Isn’t that beautiful?

I believe with all of my heart that these are the days when impossible victories will be won. These are the days when we will draw near not only to God but to each other; days when the power of corporate prayer will be released and the forces of the devil will be routed.

God did it for Saul and He can do it for you; He will bring you divine connections, He will bring you into a group of anointed people that will awaken the gifts on the inside of you. Will you be able to discern that divine moment?

As you make time for Him, you are able to both listen to His direction and continually enjoy His presence. As I am writing this I am getting ready for tonight’s corporate prayer in church; one of my most enjoyable moments of the week! I know one thing, it will be good!

I hope you too will enjoy a place where God brings you to worship, fellowship and pray with others in that corporate setting. Now you know how important it is to mix those colors and create something new!

If you desire to know more about prayer, my book on prayer will exhort you to pray in many areas of your prayer-life!

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Learn To Pray Effectively

January 16, 2012 by Olga 12 Comments

Learn To Pray Effectively

by Olga Hermans

Last year I wrote my book on prayer, because I truly believe that you have to do things the right way. Many people want to build their business or find their purpose in life and are very fervent about it, which is a good thing. They want to climb that mountain so to speak. BUT….. you have to climb the right mountain first and then come down from that mountain to your own mountain.

Does that sound complicated? Let me explain; first you have to go to God and get all the instructions you need. Your greatest need right now might be to hear from heaven and know the plan of God. The Bible says tells us in Psalm 37:4 that God will put His desires in us until His desires become our desires and our desires become His desires. One of the aspects of delighting yourself in the Lord is definitely prayer.

This is what E. M. Bounds says about desire: ” Desire is not merely a simple wish: it is a deep seated craving; and intense longing, for attainment. In the realm of spiritual affairs, it is an important adjunct to prayer. So important is it, that one might say, almost, that desire is an absolute essential of prayer. Desire precedes prayer, accompanies it, is followed by it. Desire goes before prayer, and by it, created and intensified”.

Prayer is the oral expression of desire. If prayer is asking God for something, then prayer must be expressed. Prayer comes out into the open. Desire is silent. Prayer is heard; desire, unheard. The deeper the desire, the stronger the prayer. Without desire, prayer is a meaningless mumble of words. Such perfunctory, formal praying, with no heart, no feeling, no real desire accompanying it, is to be shunned like pestilence. Its exercise is a waste of precious time, and from it, no real blessing accrues”.

There are some things we need to know about prayer for our prayers to be effective. I want be prayer to be effective, what about you? If I have the idea that something might not be working or that I might be missing something; I want to know it and I want to know it to the detail. Why bother otherwise, right?

We are to be effective in prayer; we could say that we should bear “prayer fruit.” On a natural tree, let’s say an apple tree, if the branches were injured by a storm and somewhat disconnected, they could still receive nourishment and live. They would still leaf and survive, but they would no longer produce fruit.

We can be this way as Christians—we are still on the vine, but because there has not been pruning and purging of those damaged areas we produce no fruit. On a natural fruit-producing tree they would cut away any unnecessary branches so that the fruit is the very best.

The purging and pruning in us is so important. Do not shy away from consecration and separation; these are the things that would keep us from moving forward in Him. Are we abiding in the Vine fully? In the Word and in prayer and in His presence daily? God takes out things in us that are not necessary, they are pruned away. Why? To produce better fruit.

We are never to stay in the same place, we’re always to be moving on in God. More fervency, more fire released through His Body; always moving further in God. Then, we will not become religious or stale in the Spirit. We are to be strong in our union with Him in Word and in prayer.

Ephesians 6:10 (AMP) says, “In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].”

We are to have a quality to the time we spend with Him, in our fellowship with the Lord, so that when we pray it is truly God propelling us. When we do this we pray what He gives us to pray and the answer is sure. We are to have a precise walk with the Lord, perfectly precise prayers. When you want to pray about in the final leg of the race, and we need to have a mindset and our hearts on precise prayer—those things that the Lord would have us release in prayer that are completely effective.

Probably the greatest need you might have right now in discovering the life you were born to live is that you desire to hear from God and know the plan that He has for your life. I might dig into that another time and you can read more about this in my book on prayer. God will show us things to come, and we can tap into those things through prayer. It can happen when things rise up on the inside of us along with a knowing. There are things that you know that yo know are from God.

God often deals with us ahead of time, especially if it involves a major change. If there is something coming in the future, then He deals with us six months to two years in advance. This happened to us when we moved to America and when we moved to Canada as well. It is a great experience when you know that God went ahead and prepared everything for you.

We can find out so much about the future through times in prayer. We can pray in the Holy Ghost and hear from heaven about things concerning our future. The easiest place to hear from God and to find God’s plan for our life is through prayer. Prayer processes the plan of God. If we will take time to pray our future out, over, down, and through, it will be much easier to walk it out!

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Filed Under: PRAYER Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, excerpt of book, for such a time as this, future, God, home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, lifestyle, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Restoration, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, this is your life, to live, trouble, vision, What does it mean, word, your life

The Privilege of Prayer

December 8, 2011 by Olga 10 Comments

The Privilege of Prayer

by Olga Hermans

Last weekend I watched the season of Survivor 22, where Matt Elrod the Christian guy was blindsided twice. Poor guy 🙂 I really liked his boldness about his faith in God though; he prayed a lot and still lost. Without any criticism on him I really thought it would be good to give a few thoughts on how to pray.

I heard somebody say once that all Christian failure is a Prayer failure. Actually it is very, very simple because the Word says: “You have not because you ask not.” “You ask and receive not, because you ask amiss.” In other words, when you are praying, you don’t know what you are doing. You might not be praying correctly.

The bible is very specific about praying in different forms and so forth. 1 Timothy says: first of all prayer, intercessions, supplications and petitions and with thanksgiving. Why do you think is it so specifically detailed?

God has put certain safeguards on the prayer system to keep the devil out of it. You can go to the bank having money in your account; go to the president’s office and lay there on the floor screaming and hollering and kicking to tell him that you need your money. He won’t give it to you, even if he may know you personally.

But until you put your signature in a specific manner on the line of a specific withdrawal document, you are not getting your money out of there, even if it is yours. God is not trying to keep your money from you, He is trying to protect you and your money from thieves.

And that is what is happening in the prayer system; there is a definite connection between the Kingdom of God in heaven and the Kingdom of God in the earth. And Jesus said: “If you seek first my Kingdom and its righteousness, all these things will be added to you”.

So, in that seeking are different forms and kinds of prayer. Maybe you don’t know what you are doing while God is trying to tell you what to do, but you might not be listening to Him. You might think that God never listens to you, but the fact is that He is not trying to make it hard on us; He is trying to make it hard on the devil.

When you and I follow God’s system that opens the Kingdom of God everything that is involved in it blocks the devil. This should not be a struggle. The struggle comes from a lack of knowledge. It starts by not knowing what the plan is in the first place. Faith begins where the plan of God, the purpose of God and the knowledge of God is known. We need to allow the Word to renew our mind concerning prayer.

Let me ask you a question: “What do you see when you pray?” I am asking you this because we don’t think in words, we think in pictures, images and patterns. When you talk to yourself, that inner conversation that goes on, on the inside of you; you are hearing the words, but you are seeing the images!

There is a way of thinking. There is a whole body of thoughts that got into you from the time you were born up to now, if there never has been any renewing of it. And this whole way of thinking, if it never has been renewed by the Word of God might be leading you in the wrong direction!

There is a way that seems right to men, but the ways thereof are death. They look good and sound good because that is the way you always thought. The only way you can trust to change those thoughts is through the Word of God.

Let’s say, you have made a decision to pray about something and you go before God and you go on your knees. Now, what do you see in your mind’s eye? Where are you? Do you see yourself at the feet of Jesus? You might not even be aware that you are seeing something, but let me encourage you to look at it when you start to pray, what do you see?

That image has been developed since the day of Sunday school; you have a place where you go in your mind. And you need that place to be what the scripture says, not what you dreamed up or had formed in Sunday school or when you were a child or whatever. Find out! That is very important!

We begin with the answers to the prayer, not the questions! When you base every prayer on the Word of God, then you will have confidence. 1John 5:14

One of the great things about praying is being able to do it with confidence. Most people don’t have any confidence; they wonder if their prayer got any higher than the ceiling. They wonder if they broke through.

Hebrews 4:16 says to come boldly to the throne of grace; so we can come before God with boldness and with great confidence and when you say “amen”, it means “so be it”. In other words, when you walk away from your prayer time, you walk away with confidence. You know He heard you and when you know He heard you, you know that you have what you asked for.

That is God’s attitude of prayer. God never intended for prayer to be guess work; He never intended it to be something like when you are finished, you walk away and you wonder if anything had happened. He intended that when you say “Amen” that you walk away with confidence, that what I just asked God for; I know it is on its way and I know that God began moving on my behalf before I even finished the prayer.

God’s attitude about prayer is always: obtain, have confidence, come boldly; in other words, He expects it to work! He expects you to achieve something and to accomplish something when you pray. God never intended it to be something that you try to do and hope something lands. It is that when you pray, you get results. That is the way, that He expects us to approach prayer. It is that it is an avenue through which our source of supply meets our needs.

Somebody once asked me: “why do I have to ask God?” If He already knows my need before I ask, why do I have to ask? Because that is simply how He put it in the book. He said: “you have not because you ask not.”

And then again, He knows what I need before I ask, but prayer is communication with Him. It is being able to converse with the Creator of the Universe and it being able to know that you have the right to stand in His presence and do it with boldness and then when you come to the conclusion of that prayer, you walk away with the attitude; “I believe I have received it”.

What a privilege!

You need a new mindset about prayer itself, because prayer is not just always going to God with a need. Prayer is communication with God. And when you get in that higher level where you don’t think about prayer that is something I need to do when I am hurting or when I am in need. Prayer is communicating with God; it is fellowshipping with God. And in the process your needs get met.

We have all been there and done that, but it is time for the new and especially since the New Year is coming; 2012 will be a different year.

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Filed Under: PRAYER Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, excerpt of book, for such a time as this, future, God, home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Restoration, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, this is your life, to live, trouble, vision, What does it mean, word, your life

Confession of Faith

December 3, 2011 by Olga Leave a Comment

Confession of Faith

According to Phil. 1:6, I let the communication of my faith become effectual by me acknowledging every good thing which is in me in Christ Jesus.

I am now releasing my faith by confessing this to be the greatest day of my life. This is the day that the Lord hath made: I will rejoice and be glad in it. I am a recreated being. Old things have passed away and all things have become new. I am created into His glorious image and likeness.

I am His workmanship and am complete in Christ. I am full of His Spirit and divine power. I have the fruit of His Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, meekness, temperance and faith. I am humbly submitting myself to the authority of His Holy Word for He and His Word are one.

I am obedient to His commandments and He enlarges my capacity to receive revelation knowledge, wisdom, understanding and ability in all things that pertain to life and godliness.

I am God’s property. I have been bought with the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, I am free from the curse of the law. Sin, sickness, poverty, fear, doubt, worry, confusion, and all that Satan represents shall not have dominion over me. I am prospering in my spirit, soul, body and finances, for I am a liberated person.

Jesus said that I would know the truth and the truth would set me free. I am standing fast in the liberty wherein Christ has made me free. I am a disciplined person. I study God’s Word daily. I meditate upon its precepts.

I confess who Christ is, what He has done and what He is doing in and through me now. I am acting upon truths and I am expecting God to meet my needs and to do super abundantly above all I dare ask, hope, dream or desire in every area of my life.

I am a beautiful person full of God’s forgiveness and love. I forgive as God has forgiven me. I love as God has loved me. Therefore, His faith is working in me by love.

I speak directly to every mountain of satanic adversity in my life and command them to go in the Name of Jesus! They cannot stay, they must go in Jesus’ Name!

Through the abundance of God’s grace, I have received the gift of righteousness and am now reigning in this life by Christ Jesus. In Genesis 1:24-31 and Genesis 2:8-15, God has told me what it was that a righteous man was to reign over.

Praise God, I am a righteous person and I’m reigning over God’s creation now. “Christ has been made worthy to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing.” I am now a joint heir with Christ and as He is, so am I in this world.

He has made me worthy to receive all that Jesus represents. Praise God, I am everything that the Word declares that I am. I have communicated my faith by acknowledging every good thing which is in me in Christ Jesus.

I believe my faith is now working effectively and that all of my needs and desires have already been supplied by His riches in glory through Christ Jesus.

I worship with all my heart, soul and strength. I lift up my voice and hands in praise and adoration to His glorious Name for He is worthy of praise and He has made me worthy to praise His Name.

Filed Under: Confessions Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, excerpt of book, for such a time as this, future, God, home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, this is your life, to live, trouble, vision, What does it mean, word, your life

What About 2012?

September 28, 2011 by Olga Leave a Comment

What About 2012?

Prophecy delivered by Kenneth Copeland
on November 10, 2011
Washington, DC Victory Campaign

“What about 2012? What does it hold? What’s in store? What’s in store for the nations? What’s in store for Israel and what’s in store for the Church? I have a great storehouse. Much more has been stored up in the storehouse of riches beyond your wildest dream that I laid up for you before the foundation of the world. Much more is stored up there than what the Church has ever called for. I never have held back on the Church,” saith The LORD and the God of plenty. “I’ve made it available to you. I put it in My WORD. I gave you a promise and stood behind it with the blood, precious blood of your Savior. But there has been a backwardness in My people about laying hold of the things that I have provided for you. But I will say this: There is a people in the land. There is a people around the world. There is a people strong and mighty, growing much stronger and much mightier and more bold to lay hold and put their claim of faith on the things that I have laid up for you and it thrills Me,” saith The LORD, “because it’s been yours all the time.

“Ah, but what about 2012? 2012 is a year full of surprises. Some surprises are going to shake people up. Some surprises are going to shake people down. But for those who are listening to My voice, those who have made themselves available to My Spirit and to My WORD, you’ll have surprises. Oh, not like the world and not like a lot of carnal-minded Christians. Your surprises will come as suddenlies. Like in My WORD when it said, ‘And suddenly there came upon them.’ And you’ll stand up with a big smile on your face and say ‘I just got a suddenly, didn’t I? Oh! Yes.’ But it’ll not take you by surprise because I said in My WORD I’d show you things to come. I said in My WORD what I speak the Holy Ghost will hear and He will speak it to you. And there are those of you who are seeking My voice and seeking My WORD and seeking My Name and looking at Me in My face while I’m looking at you in your face. And together we’ll walk in this and together we’ll walk through this and there’ll come a time when you’ll just smile at Me and I’ll just smile at you and you’ll say, ‘Ha. Ha. Ha. I knew that all the time. Praise God. My Father showed me that was coming and I was all prepared and it didn’t come on me as a suddenly. But this other surprise that came on me. Oh, what joy. Oh, what thrill. Oh, what goodness. I wonder what else my Father has in store for me. Hallelujah. Praise God.’

“2012? I’ll tell you about 2012. It’s going to be a year of great joy for those who know joy. It’ll be a time of marvelous breakthroughs. This is a time of victory. It’s a time when people begin to realize that My WORD is a living WORD, that My Spirit is the living Spirit, and that you are My voice in the earth. And your voice is the voice of victory. So rejoice and shout and understand that the breakthroughs that you’ve sought and watched over, prayed over, stood in faith for, ah, don’t turn loose now. Don’t turn loose now because they’re at hand. They’re right at hand. They’re right on top of you right now. Praise God. Hey!

“Have no worry. Do not be in fear about the United States of America. Don’t be in fear over the failure of this republic. This is not the time for this nation to fail. I’m not done with it yet. And it may come as a surprise to many; this nation is not done with Me yet,” saith The LORD. Hallelujah.

“We have a job to do. And this year will be like none other where this nation is concerned. And many will say, ‘Oh, woe is us! Oh, woe is us!’ And you know what? Oh, woe will be them.

“And there are others who’ll say, ‘Oh, we can’t win! We can’t win!’ And to them they can’t win.

“Ah, but to those of them who say, ‘Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. This is a time of greatness! America again! Oh, and it’s my nation and it’s God’s nation and we’re right where we’re supposed to be. He has us right where He wants us, and our future is bright because God is still LORD over the United States of America.’

“So rejoice and give forth a glad sound because The LORD of glory is still on the throne and prayer changes things and together we’re going on to greater victory.

“Oh yes! 2012 is a time of greatness Miracles that seemed as if they would not come but they’re here. There is an atmosphere conducive to miracles that’s been growing and growing and will manifest greatly in the first quarter of 2012 and continue throughout the year and on into 2013. I’ve been looking forward to 2012,” saith The LORD. “I know how it’s going to turn out. I’ve already dealt with it in My WORD. Your future is looking better all the time. But of course you’ll need to look at it through My eyes,” saith the Spirit of grace. “So as I said before, rejoice, for your time has come.”

Filed Under: Prophesies Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, for such a time as this, future, God, home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, to live, trouble, vision, What does it mean, word